Journalism of Courage
Downpours this week in Meizhou city in Guangdong province of China led to flash floods and mudslides that destroyed thousands of low-rise houses, damaged roads and crops, and disrupted communications and power supplies. (REUTERS)
A drone view shows a flooded embankment and damaged roads along Shiku river following heavy rainfall in Jiaoling county of Meizhou, Guangdong province, China. In the southern Guangdong province, bordering Hong Kong, landslides triggered by severe flooding killed at least five people in the city of Meizhou. (REUTERS)
Fifteen others were missing, according to local media reports.More than 130,000 households in Meizhou experienced power outages, with some neighboring towns and villages out of contact as of Monday. (REUTERS)
Deaths during China's annual summer floods have fallen sharply from the thousands each year in the 1990s, as authorities beefed up flood control measures such as dams. Yet extreme weather in recent years, including record-breaking rainfall, has made China vulnerable to intense flooding and disasters such as sudden mudslides, often in its mountainous but populated areas. (REUTERS)
At least 378 houses collapsed in the county, and 880 hectares (2,175 acres) of crops were damaged, amounting to economic losses of at least 415 million yuan ($57.2 million) in Wuping, authorities said, according to the official Xinhua news agency. Three helicopters and more than 200 teams of rescuers were searching for survivors and delivering aid to the affected areas, according to local authorities. (REUTERS)
Days of torrential rain, flash floods and landslides across southern China forced authorities to step up emergency plans, as surging waters from swollen rivers threatened to disrupt the lives of millions. (REUTERS)
In Beijing last year, heaviest rainfall in 140 years were recorded. Thousands of people were evacuated to shelters in schools and other public buildings in suburban Beijing and in nearby cities. (REUTERS)
Authorities in Guilin, a major city in Guangxi in southwest China, raised a "red" flood warning signal, the highest level, late on Wednesday when the water level of the Li River, which runs through the city, reached 3.61 metres above the warning line, China Daily reported on Thursday. (REUTERS)
The task of controlling floods in China is becoming increasingly arduous, President Xi Jinping said on Tuesday, calling for all-out efforts to safeguard lives and property as powerful storms pounded China's southern provinces. China's National meteorological Center said on Friday a typhoon could form over the weekend and affect coastal areas in the country's south. (REUTERS)
Southern China was reeling Tuesday from heavy rains that triggered landslides killing at least nine people, knocking out power for entire villages and burying crops. Meanwhile, northern parts of the country are battling drought, as the country faces two extremes of severe weather. (REUTERS)
